#Aurora 3d presentation collection full#

#Aurora 3d presentation collection full#

Third, it is good to get away from other sources of light such as cities, streetlights, and even the full moon. Often coastal regions are cloudy, so going someplace away from the oceans improves probabilities of seeing aurora. Traveling to the polar regions in the summer won't work because the sun is up 24 hours a day. Here are several suggestions on what to consider when looking for aurora. It should be noted that the aurora is symmetric and auroral features in the northern hemisphere are mirrored in the southern hemisphere. During very large events, it is possible to see the aurora in the continental US. But when activity picks up, it becomes brighter and the auroral oval expands towards the equator. On nights where there is little geomagnetic activity and the aurora is quiet, it stays further poleward. The auroral ovals are not centered on the geographic pole but are centered on the magnetic pole of Earth. Because of the structure of the magnetosphere, and the primary acceleration processes in the tail part of the magnetosphere (away from the sun), aurora form a ring or oval around each of the poles of Earth and are brightest and most dramatic near midnight. Where to go to observe the aurora: to Where to go to observe the aurora:īecause the aurora is trapped on the magnetic field lines, it is most often seen near the north and south poles of Earth.

These auroral displays are less dramatic than those associated with CMEs but they can still be quite spectacular if you are in the right place at the right time. This increase in solar wind speed can also cause the magnetosphere to reconfigure, the electrons to get accelerated, and aurora to form. Normally the solar wind flows about 300-500 km/sec but from a coronal hole, the solar wind can flow to 800 km/sec. A feature on the sun called a coronal hole is associated with strong background solar wind. Early scientists made the connection between an increase in sunspots (active regions on the sun) and an increase in the intensity and frequency of the aurora.ĭuring solar minimum, when CMEs are less likely, it is still possible to have a strong aurora. The accelerated electrons are still confined to follow the magnetic field lines of Earth but now they travel down the field line and collide with the atmosphere. All of this shaking and reconfiguring can accelerate electrons that are normally trapped within the magnetosphere. Even though much of the mass is deflected around Earth, the impact can jar the magnetosphere and shake it up, causing it to change configuration. When it reaches Earth, the magnetic field of Earth deflects much of the CME around Earth but some of the more energetic particles can enter the Earth's magnetic field or Magnetosphere. If the CME is directed toward Earth, it will take one to three days for it to travel the 150 million km (96 million miles) from sun to Earth. A CME is a billion tons of material traveling at up to 2000 km/sec (or 4.5 million miles/hour). When the sun is active (near solar maximum), it can eject large blobs of plasma called Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). The process of accelerating electrons into the atmosphere starts at the sun. What causes aurora: to What causes aurora: